Tuesday, July 11, 2017

I was recently contacted on Facebook by a Black woman by the name of Shirley accusing me of doing a "hatchet job" on Tavis Smiley and Cornel West in my post, “Where is Tavis Smiley and Cornel West Now?” She also complained that the piece was three years old, so I thought I'd take a moment to put together this piece in response.

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Shirley, I know excerpts from the piece are over three years old - in fact, I happen to know that they're over four years old, because I wrote them. It's what's call a recap. But frankly, I didn't understand the significance of your complaint. Are you suggesting, that we should just walk away from history and let bygones be bygones? I don’t think so. We've got to thoroughly out these two turncoats as an example to other demagogues who may be waiting in the wings.

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But for the record, I waited four years to recap this disgusting episode because history clearly shows that these two individuals are not being nearly as critical, or treating Donald Trump with anything near the disdain and disrespect that they reserved for the very first Black President of the United States. The Black community needs to explore the reasons behind that and make sure that it never happens again. We need to immediately blackball anyone who ever tries it again - in fact, we need to come together and blackball anyone who brings ANY ignorance into the Black community, whether it be in politics, the arts, or general dysfunction.
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But with respect to Tavis and West, the jury is in and it's no longer a debate - their behavior toward President Obama was a petty and mindless act of petulance, envy, and blatant self-promotion that did immeasurable damage to the Black community. We now also know that their slanderous allegations toward the president lacked validity, because in spite of their many criticisms of Obama (both before, and after, he became president) he ultimately became one of the greatest heads of state in American history, and brought great pride and intellectual validation to Black people all over the world. No, he wasn't perfect, but he was as perfect as we've ever seen in America. He brought honor to this nation, and with the exception of Tavis and West, he was admired by people all over the world. The man can’t even stop to get a taco without cars honking their horns and people stopping on the street to applaud him, and he’s becoming even more popular as time goes on. On the other hand, Donald Trump can't even show his face without being booed, not only here in America, but all over the world. Even our oldest and most staunch allies look upon him with disdain. Yet, all we hear from Tavis and West now, are crickets. So what flaws did they see in Obama that were so serious that they felt the need to get on a bus and travel all over the country badmouthing him, that they don't now see in Donald Trump?
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So allowing history to sink in is serving to demonstrate the Willie Lynch-like hatred some Black people can sink to due to envy and egotism. Cornel West built his entire reputation on posing as a highly enlightened intellectual, but history has revealed that he’s just another petty Black man with a big mouth, who's lacking in character, and one of the least enlightened people in the Black community; and Tavis Smiley has been revealed to be nothing more than a self-absorbed opportunist. Thus, these two “brothers” are graphic examples of why Black people are at the very bottom of the social ladder, and why it’s incumbent upon us to stop embracing celebrities as heroes and start thinking for ourselves.

So, how is that a hatchet job, Shirley? What you're calling a hatchet job is nothing less than unvarnished truth. Yes, it's ugly, but it should be, because Tavis and West's self-serving disregard for the Black community and the first Black President of the United States, was ugly. It was beyond ugly - it was disgusting, and if I have anything to do with it, they'll never live it down.

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Both of these "brothers" are fraudulent phonies. That now stands as an unassailable fact. If they weren't, where are they now that we have a fascist White man in office who's trying to deprive 22 million Americans of badly needed healthcare? But Smiley and West seem to be much more comfortable with having a White man in control - even if that White man is a lying, incompetent, and dysfunctional buffoon. On the other hand, having a young Black man running this nation who demonstrated competence, excellence, and character - but took attention away from them - was just more than they could bear. Their response to it clearly demonstrates why we had to have Northern White folks come DRAG us out of slavery kickin' and screamin - and even then we had people like Tavis and West fightin' for the South. That also explains why when Union soldiers captured such people they wouldn't even take ‘em prisoner; they'd shoot 'em dead right there on the spot - and I don’t blame them. They left the comfort of their homes and the love of their families to risk their lives to free us from slavery (among other things), and then they were confronted by some coon shootin’ at them to “protect the massa.” If I'd been around back then, I would have loaded their guns for for 'em for the execution.

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So Shirley, while you may think I'm doing "a hatchet job" on Tavis and West, just consider this - and I've got video! On the very DAY that Sen. Barack Obama went to Springfield, Illinois to maximize the historic significance of announcing his candidacy for president in the shadow of Lincoln's former statehouse instead of coming on Tavis' "State of the Black America" jibfest, West stood up and did an impassioned rant indicating that Obama couldn’t be trusted to be president because he didn’t come on the Tavis Smiley show. Can you even begin to fathom such arrogance!!!? Who the hell did they think they were!!!? They were acting like Sen. Obama committed an unforgiveable sin - as if Tavis Smiley was the Grand Poobah of the Black community, and Obama required his permission to run for president, and all the while Tavis was standing there grinnin' like a chess cat. You would have thought they'd caught Obama committing some sort of unconscionable atrocity. But don't just take my word for it, watch the video for yourself. Their unmitigated arrogance, literally, made me want to throw up. And again, this was on the very MORNING that Obama announced that he was running for the presidency.
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So they were trying to sabotage the very first viable Black candidacy for president before it even got off the ground. Because, you see, having a Black president would tend to lower their stature in the Black community, so their entire motivation from that moment on was to say, "Aw, he ain't all that." You see, Tavis couldn't prevent Sen. Obama from running, but at the very least, he wanted Obama to announce his candidacy on his show. That would have made Tavis look like a king-maker, and it would have also made it look like Obama had come to get Tavis' blessing. In short, Tavis was trying to put Barack Obama in his pocket (like he had Cornel West), but Barack wasn't having it, and it enraged him. So what resulted was the most petty, and disgusting display of arrogance that I've ever seen - and Cornel West comes off looking like the Tavis Smiley puppet that he was. That was the moment I lost respect for his alleged intellect, and began to see him for who he really was - a shallow and big-mouth opportunist. But Tavis and West had the perfect symbiotic relationship - Cornel West had the mouth, and Tavis Smiley had the television exposure.

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Again, notice how arrogantly entitled West sounds in the above video, as though it was more appropriate for Obama to come kiss Tavis’ ring than to announce his candidacy in the shadow of Lincoln’s former statehouse. I remember becoming slack-jawed at his unmitigated arrogance. Up until that moment I had been a big fan of both Tavis and West, but that was when I first realized that they were nothing but egomaniacal coons. That was also the morning that I started investigating them, and I’ve written nearly 30 articles on them since.

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The video is also ironically prophetic. Notice how even as West is lecturing the nation on how Obama is surrounding himself with people who can’t be trusted, and asking Obama where his money coming from, you can see Wells Fargo and Exxon/Mobil logos floating by in the background behind him. What makes that so prophetically ironic is, even as West asking Obama these questions, Tavis Smiley was involved in the Wells Fargo "Ghetto Loans" scam, where Wells Fargo ended up having to settled a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice agreeing to pay poor and middle-class minorities $175 million as a result of swindling them out of their life savings. This was the biggest scam EVER perpetrated on the Black community involving a Black man as a front, and it was the second largest housing discrimination case in American history, and all the while Tavis was running around preaching to Obama about “accountability.” But the establishment media was refusing to cover it. That’s how, and why, I became so fixated on bringing the machinations of these two demagogues to the attention of the Black community.

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So, tell me again, sister, how is this is a hatchet job? You must be a relative of one of these brothers?

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The Real History of The Poverty Tours

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The hostility that Tavis Smiley and Cornel West have for President Obama is so transparent that if it were glass we would have walked right through it and cut ourselves to shreds. These two are shameless, and it’s not only a national disgrace how the establishment media is allowing them to prance around posing as the savior of the poor and middle class, but they're actually helping them to perpetuate this fraud by providing them constant coverage and millions of dollars worth of publicly supported air time.
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These two thought that they were gonna become the Grand Dragons of the Black Community - which is a very profitable gig when you’re in the business of selling ALEC-connected corporations access to the Black community like Tavis Smiley. Tavis is the biggest corporate shill in the Black community. He fronts for Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, Exxon/Mobile, Allstate Ins., Nationwide Ins., etc. - a veritable who’s who of the corporations that are most responsible for victimizing the poor and middle class in the country, and who are spending millions of dollars to obstruct minority voter rights. That’s what makes it so ironic that they’re trying to portray themselves as the saviors of "the poor minorities."
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During Obama’s first campaign for president Smiley and West had already hitched their wagons to Hillary Clinton. She was 37 points ahead of Obama in the Black community at the time, so they were all set to gain the clout, prestige, and riches of having presidential access and being acknowledged as the new grand viziers of the Black community. But then, Obama won the election - in spite of their most ardent efforts - and caught them by surprise. In fact, Cornel West tried to jump the fence and began campaigning for Obama when it became clear that Obama might actually win, but Obama wasn’t having it. That's what caused the controversy over West not being invited to the inaugural celebration.
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At the time, West tried to frame the issue like Obama was an ingrate for not inviting him to the inauguration after he campaigned for him. But he failed to mention the fact that less than an hour after Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States West went on national television and told the Black community that Obama couldn’t be trusted.

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The video of Cornel's rant was ironically prophetic. Notice how even as West is lecturing the nation on how Obama is surrounding himself with people who can’t be trusted, and asking him where is his money coming from, you can see Wells Fargo and Exxon/Mobil logos floating by in the background behind him. What makes that so prophetically ironic is, even as that spectacle was taking placeTavis was involved in the Wells Fargo "Ghetto Loans" scam, where Wells Fargo ended up having to settled a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice agreeing to pay poor and middle-class minorities $175 million as a result of the scam. This is the biggest scam EVER perpetrated on Black community with the active involvement of a Black man, and the second largest housing discrimination case in the history of the United States but the establishment media refused to cover it. That’s why I’ve become so fixated on bringing the machinations of these two demagogues to the attention of the Black community.

So the Bottom Line is this - when people like myself criticize Tavis Smiley, Cornel West, or Boyce Watkins, we’re not criticizing them because they’re critical of President Obama; our problem with them is they’re cherry-picking their facts and telling half-truths to promote their own agenda.
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HEY, AREN'T YOU THE SAME GUY WHO SAID I COULDN'T BE TRUSTED?

A prime example of that is they are going out of their way NOT to tell the Black community that the United States Constitution gives sole control of spending to the United States House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Republicans. So the only way that President Obama can spend any money to assist the Black community, or anyone else, is to get the Republican House to go along with him.
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That’s why it’s so important for the president to hold together a coalition of Blacks, women, gays, Hispanics, and every other segment of the American population. He needs ALL of us to place pressure on the Republicans to loosen the purse strings in order for him to get anything done. So anytime you hear Tavis, West, or Watkins pointing their finger at what President Obama is doing for any other segment of the population, they’re doing you a disservice.
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Here’s how politics works - "you support me when I need you, and I’ll support you when you need me." So whenever President Obama does anything for other segments of the population, he’s building up political capital so he can help you. But, of course, he doesn’t discuss what he’s doing for the Black community for a very good reason - as Cornel says himself (when it’s convenient), "Race Matters."
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These gentlemen know full well that if President Obama runs around bragging about what he’s doing for the Black community, the Republicans are going to use that as leverage to tear his coalition apart. They would tell women, gays, Hispanics, and everyone else in America that Obama doesn’t care about them; all he wants to do is help his own people, and that message hurts the Black community. Don’t these so-called intellectuals recognize that? If they don’t, they’re dumb. If they do, that means that they’re purposely trying to mislead you. The question, then, is why?
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So the fact is, when people like Tavis, West, and Watkins run around telling you that the proof that President Obama is not working for you is that he refuses to throw his fist in the air, these people are working against you, not for you - and they know it. You see, their primary agenda is NOT about helping the Black community. Their agenda is about tearing President Obama down, and again, that hurts you. But they don't care - and that's the problem.
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In the end, Cornel West tried to portray Barack Obama as an ingrate by claiming that after campaigning for him, Barack wouldn’t even return his calls. But he failed to mention that he only started campaigning for Obama AFTER it became clear that Obama was going to win the election. It was only then that Cornel tried to jump the fence away from Tavis Smiley and tried to ingratiate himself with Obama, but Barack wasn't having it - “Hey, aren’t you the one who said that I couldn’t be trusted?”
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So Cornel West has no shame. He tries to jump onboard any train that happens to be going his way. Now that Tavis Smiley has lost face in the Black community, Cornel won't even be seen with him anymore. I know, because I've written over 30 articles on him. In my opinion, the only person who knows him better, MIGHT be his mother. That's why I have so much disgust for him. Cornel is the Liberace of faux intellectualism. He's the quintessential phony and the people have begun to recognize that fact.
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So now that he's outlived his usefulness as a Democratic saboteur for the corporatists, they've flushed him down the toilet like a used Tampon. "Dr. West," indeed. That's a joke - the dude believes in talkin' snakes, and one of the biggest mistakes the Black community ever made was failing to thoroughly vet him in the very beginning - and we made the very same mistake with Tavis Smiley.
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This episode has taught me to be suspicious of EVERY Black person that the White establishment pushes to the forefront, so the first thing I do is thoroughly research them. We could have avoided this disaster if we had taken note when Tavis Smiley was fired from BET, and also when Cornel West joined forces with Ralph Nader to help get George W. Bush elected in the 2000 election. But we were too busy being mesmerized by the White establishment telling us what a powerful "Black" intellectual West was. But in White establishment terms, that only means that he's useful to them and he can read without moving his lips. And what made him particularly useful is his clown-like style of showmanship. The establishment figured that "ignorant" Black people would relate to that, and we did. So over all these years Cornel West has traded on personal fame in return for being a Democratic saboteur. Just look at his record. He always manages to find something wrong with the side that favors the American people - his tactic is to attack the good for the sin of not being perfect - yet, he rarely utters a word against those who are trying to destroy us. There's a reason for that, because those are his benefactors. And Tavis Smiley has the exact same MO - ask Walmart.
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So Shirley, that said, I just want you to know that I took your complaint very seriously. I love my sisters and I never like to anger them, because I've recognized since I was a child that you are the glue that holds the Black community together, and you're forced to bear the greatest burden of our pain. But if you think my speaking out on the petulant and self-serving ignorance of Tavis Smiley and Cornel West constitutes a hatchet job, you're just going to have to live with that, and I'm going to have to live with your anger.

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Eric L. Wattree

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Eric L. Wattree is a writer, poet, and musician, born in Los Angeles. He’s been a columnist for The Los Angeles Sentinel, Black Star News, The Atlanta Post, and is a member of the Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spj.org/). He’s also the author of "A Message From the Hood."Some of the greatest minds I’ve ever known held court while sitting on empty milk crates in the parking lots of ghetto liquor stores, while some of the weakest minds I’ve ever known roamed the halls of academia in pursuit of credentials over knowledge.Eric L. Wattreehttp://www.whohub.com/wattree

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Am I a hater, you ask? You're damn right I'm a hater. I hate injustice. I hate hypocrisy. I also hate demagoguery, apathy, and the stupidity that allows it to exist. Hater? Absolutely. I'm a big time hater. I hate what I see happening to this country, and I hate watching the development of a culture that embraces ignorance with a stupid sense of pride. So yes, I am indeed a hater, but not only that - I'm a hater with a very low threshold for bullshit, so step off.